7.08.2009

The idea of justice has been on my mind lately. It seems to be coming up everywhere. We talked about it a little in Sunday School last week in our small group discussions of Crazy Love, I came across the most recent Catalyst Journal which focuses on God's justice, my friend Laura brought it up in her blog, and this morning I was reading about it in my online class. I think it's a topic that the Lord is asking me to re-explore, especially as I reflect on past and present personal experiences.

From this morning's reading, there's this family therapist named Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, and he has a family therapy plan that's based on justice and fairness. He says that good, healthy families are based on love and trust. When parents act in loving and trustworthy ways, the children respond and become loving and trustworthy adults. If children don't get this environment, then they have an imbalance of the equity in the everyday giving and taking that goes on in life.

What happens when these children become adults? Probably one of two things. The first is that they have the attitude of "i didn't get it then, but i'm sure gonna get it now." Second, the attitude of "i didn't deserve it then, so i dont deserve it now." So the injustice continues.

Apply that to our "family" around the world. Kids grow up in war-torn, impoverished countries, or in violent, impoverished American neighborhoods, and weren't treated in loving and trustworthy ways. So they grow up to typically be non-loving and non-trustworthy adults. And the injustice perpetuates.

So, how do we help this and stop the cycle of injustice? By radically loving and acting in trustworthy ways to those we come into contact with. Not just to be "good people" but to battle injustice. So the next time I want to lash out at the person who didn't do something that I liked, or when I feel like no one is looking out for me and I need to act in a selfish way to protect my needs and wants, I need to remember that that will only breed more selfishness and injustice. Instead, we are called to step out in love, becoming a sort of a sacrifice ... hmmm... that sounds familiar...

p.s. could this be a step to peacemaking- working for peace and transformation in creative non-violent ways?